Untimely Interruptions
by Angie3217
Summary: ...can they be overcome? SJ & AA
1. Chapter 1

**Untimely Interruptions**

**...can they be overcome?**

My first attempt at this. It was an answer to a challenge laid down by Katie which was as follows-

Must involve:

1. Susie and Jonesy

2. A small child

3. An animal

4. A television set

5. one of them wearing anothers clothes...

6. an Alex/Amy moment.

Warnings: some mild coarse language, violence

Disclaimer: their characters, my imagination

----- Part One -----

All the Heelers were at the station, on a hot summer afternoon. Everything was quiet, with the exception of playful arguing and conversation between Joss and Kelly coming from the cage, where they were checking through the lost and confiscated items. The Boss sat in his office as usual; the Sarge, Alex, Jonesy and Susie sat around at their desks, none with enough energy to make conversation. The only sound in the room was the buzz of the fan as it rotated to give each person in the room relief from the heat for a split second. The phone rang, and the Sarge answered it.

"Mt Thomas Police, Sgt Jacobs speaking." Alex turned to Susie and Jonesy.

"Bags not taking this one, it's too bloody hot to go out today. It's yours." He drawled lazily.

Both of them groaned; their strength drained by the heat. All three of them sat up straight in their chairs and made sounds of ecstasy in a Mexican wave as the fan went around again. It paused before turning back again, the Sarge smiling and basking in the cool blast as he hung up the phone.

"Okay, we have a report of a stolen show quality goat and its calf at a farm out on Ridge Rd." — the phone rang again, this time Amy answering it from her office. "She says the man from the next farm over has taken them." He rolled his eyes as he handed the address to Susie. "You and Jones can have this one."

Alex chuckled at them, full of self-satisfaction as they dragged themselves up and prepared to leave. Amy stuck her head into the room from her office.

"We've got a call from a guy who claims that he just caught his wife shaking their 2-year old son. She's started waving a knife at him, and he's locked himself in the bathroom. Alex, can you come and check it out with me?"

His face fell. He glared over at Jonesy, who burst out laughing loudly as he walked out the door, and shook his head. He looked up to the ceiling. "Why, God, why?" He asked helplessly.

"Come on Senior, get a move on." The Sarge chuckled as Alex trudged towards the door.

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In the car, Susie was speeding down the road, the air conditioner on full blast.

"Aahh…" Jonesy aimed the air con vent at his face and leant back in his seat. He undid a button on his shirt and shook it, letting some air in.

"Alright, calm down." Susie said, amused. Jonesy was indignant.

"What? I'm dying. It's 100 degrees." Susie shook her head, smiling. They spent the rest of the trip quietly, enjoying their sanctuary of cold. As they drove up the driveway towards the house, they saw the old woman sitting on a chair on the veranda. She stood up as they parked, and started marching towards the patrol car.

"Hello, hello. This should be fun." Said Jonesy snidely as they got out of the car. The woman crossed her arms as they introduced themselves, looking irritated.

"Well it's about time you lot got here. Old Stevenson from next door's taken my Nancy. And the new kid. They are show quality goats. Prize winning animals." She ranted, hands on hips. Susie struggled to contain her laughter.

"And why do you think that this… is it Mr Stevenson, stole your goat?" Jonesy enquired with a hint of a smile.

"Because _he_ claims that Bill is the father of the kid, so wants to take the kid for himself." She was incredulous. Susie stifled her giggles behind her hand, Jonesy turned to her, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. Jonesy questioned her further.

"I assume that Bill is Mr Stevenson's goat." The lady nodded, Susie scoffed. "So why would he take…" he paused "ah, Nancy, as well?" Susie was no longer able to control her laughter. She turned away, covering her mouth.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She giggled. The old woman was furious. She turned to Jonesy, ignoring Susie as she tried to get her laughing under control.

"Because she's still feeding, that's why. Now you'd better get—" She stomped her foot, setting Susie off again. Jonesy quickly covered up, pulling her around and setting her off walking. He turned to the woman.

"Alright, we'll go and talk to Mr Stevenson and see if we can straighten this out. Let's go." And with that, the two coppers set off across the paddock for the next farm.

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Meanwhile, Amy and Alex's job was a lot less amusing. Amy was inside, talking to the wife, who had calmed down. Alex stood at the back of the ambulance outside, where the man was being checked by the paramedics for a nasty cut on his arm. He clutched his son in his arms, holding him close and refusing to let him go. Alex tried to calm him down.

"Come on mate, its alright. Let me hold him for a minute, just so they can take a look at your arm. Don't worry, I'm staying right here." He smiled reassuringly at the man, holding out his arms to take the boy. The man shook his head, realising that he was being stupid.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just a little shaken up." He handed the small boy over to Alex, rolling up his sleeve for the ambos. Alex took the boy, rested him on his hip and jiggled him, smiling.

"Hey buddy. What's his name?" Alex ruffled his hair gently.

"Josh. He's-" the man was interrupted by yelling from inside the house. The man's wife came running out into the garden, closely followed by Amy and the other ambulance officer.

"Woah, hang on." Alex quickly gave Josh back to the man and ran to intercept the wife's path. He grabbed her, and dragged her away from the ambulance and her now crying son. She was hysterical, screaming and swearing, hitting Alex as she tried to escape his grasp. He pulled her to the ground and managed to get the handcuffs on her. He turned to Amy who had just caught up, and sighed.

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	2. Chapter 2

----- Part Two -----

After a long and ridiculous conversation with old Mr Stevenson, Jonesy and Susie had managed to get him, although grudgingly, to give Nancy back, along with the kid. Susie turned to Jonesy as the old man slammed the door in their faces, both goats at their feet.

"Okay, you take Nancy, I'll take the baby." She scooped up the tiny animal in her arms and waited for Jonesy to oblige.

"Come on, Nancy" he drawled, in a bad Texan accent. He picked up the goat under its belly, and held her close to his chest. "Oh, good. She's not that heav—Ugh!" His face changed to a look of annoyance, and he quickly pulled her away again, revealing a small smear of dirt on his shirt from Nancy's foot. "Dirty bitch," he muttered, setting off across the field to the old woman's farm. Susie laughed at her friend's bad luck and looked at the baby goat in her arms.

"I'm starting to like your mum already." She joked, as she trotted to catch up to her workmate.

"I heard that, you know." Jonesy shot back over his shoulder, irritated. He quickened his pace, hoisting his furry cargo higher up his arms.

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Finally, Alex and Amy had gotten the hysterical woman restrained and sedated, ready to be taken by the ambulance to the psychiatric ward of the hospital. Josh and his father were fine and had gone inside to bed. The ambulance tooted as it drove off down the driveway. The two Heelers looked on.

"Poor bugger." Alex remarked sympathetically as he unlocked the car and headed towards the driver's door. Amy paused, her door already open.

"The mum, the kid or the father?" She asked, half serious. She got into the passenger seat and shut the door.

"All of 'em." Alex reached out for the door handle, his keys dropping from his hand. He watched as they bounced under the car. "Great." He muttered sarcastically as he got onto his hands and knees, reaching under the car.

"Alex?" Amy was getting impatient in the hot car. "Alex" she called again.

"Alright, alright, hang on a second." He lay flat on the ground, straining his arm to reach the keys. Amy clicked her tongue and reached across the car, opening the door and swinging it straight into Alex's head.

"Oww, shit!" he clutched at his head. "Jesus Christ, woman, what the hell are you doing!" He got to his feet, wincing in pain. Amy was under-reacting. She walked over to him on the other side of the car.

"What were you doing on the ground, you idiot?"

"I was getting the bloody keys." He held them up for her to see. "Don't see how I'm the idiot here, though." He muttered angrily.

"God, I'm sorry. Are you OK?" She pulled his hand away to see the damage. He shrugged her off.

"Nah, it's alright, I'm fine." He forced a smile, but Amy persisted.

"Just let me have a look." She pulled his hand away from his scalp. He bowed his head to give her a better view of the back of his head.

"See, I'm ok, it's nothin' "

"Shit."

"What?" There was a touch of concern in his voice.

"You're bleeding."

"Where? Let's see…" The concern started to sound like slight panic. Amy grabbed his hand where he was holding his head and showed it to him. There was a fair covering of blood on his palm. "Bloody hell, were you trying to kill me or something?" He wiped his hand on his shirt, and raised it to touch his head again. Amy slapped it away.

"Don't. It's not as bad as it looks; you bleed the most from your head. Hang on, I'll just get the first aid kit 'n patch you up." His dirty look followed her around to the boot of the car as she went to get the first aid kit.

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Susie rang the doorbell as they stood on the old woman's veranda. Jonesy put Nancy down with a grunt, stretching his back and rubbing at the mud on his shirt. Susie sniggered, but quickly silenced herself when the woman answered the door.

"Here we are, ma'am. Two goats, safe and sound." Jonesy announced, a hint of pride in his voice. She knelt down and hugged Nancy tenderly. She stroked her lovingly, much to Susie's amusement.

"Don't forget about this little one. He's— Ugh, gross!" She held the animal at arm's length, staring with disgust at the large brown smear all down the front of her shirt. The old woman grabbed the goat from Susie defensively, turning to go back into the house.

"Serves you right." She muttered, and shut the door without so much as a 'thanks for your help'.

By this time, Jonesy was helpless with mirth. Doubled over, he was supporting himself on Susie's shoulder. She smacked his hand away and stormed over to the car. Jonesy followed her holding his stomach, his laughter slowly dying down. The sight of Susie standing by the car, blind with rage, holding her shirt away from her skin was too much. He struggled to stay on his feet as he once more surrendered to his chuckles.

-----------

Alex sat on the bonnet of the car as Amy fixed up his head with a dressing.

"There you go, all done." She patted him on the shoulders. He reached up and touched his head gingerly where the cut was. He didn't seem so sure. Alex slid off the car, and turned to get back into the driver's seat. Amy stopped him, his hand on the doorhandle. "You just copped a pretty nasty blow to the head… maybe it'd be better if I drive." Alex rolled his eyes and shook his head at her with a malicious look. He moved to walk around to the passenger side, but was stopped by Amy.

"Alex, come on. It was an accident. I'm sorry." He scoffed. "You don't really think I did that on purpose, do you?" she couldn't believe what she thought he was implying.

"You didn't seem to care very much." He looked down his nose at her, looking slightly hurt. Amy laughed in disbelief.

"Oh, come off it, I'd never do that… not to you anyway." His looked up with a start, ears pricked. He looked at her suspiciously.

"Not to me? What's that 'sposed to mean?" he crossed his arms, eyebrows raised, a slight sly smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. "Is there something you're trying to tell me, Foxy?" He uncrossed his arms and took a step towards her, smiling suggestively.

"No, it's just…" she hooked her finger into one of the buttons of his shirt, and looked up at him. She stuck out her bottom lip in a fake pout. "I'm sorry." She gave him her best puppy dog look. Alex chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"How am I meant to stay angry at you when you look at me like that?" he asked playfully. She smiled.

"That's the whole point." She stepped into him, crossing her arms behind his neck. His snaked around her waist, pulling her closer. They were only inches apart, when the Sarge's voice crackled over the radio.

"Mt Thomas 900 to Mt Thomas 2-0-8." Alex jumped back, shrugging at her apologetically. He cleared his throat before replying.

"Loud and clear, Sarge, what's the go?"

"Oh, just checking up on you two, everything alright?" Alex chuckled.

"Yeah, it's all sorted out here, just on our way back now, see you in 15." He winked at Amy before putting the radio back in its holder. "We should be getting back." He got out of the driver's seat and motioned for Amy to hop in. "It's all yours." He fake-crooned.

She nodded in thanks and got into the driver's seat, starting the engine.

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	3. Chapter 3

----- Part Three -----

A bare-chested Jonesy strode into the station, a grin plastered across his face. He stopped in the doorway to the muster room, received by a roomful of perplexed and amused stares. He held up a finger, signalling for them to wait. As the door slammed behind him, he nodded.

"Watch out, guys." He warned gleefully as Susie stormed past him. She paused in the doorway, wearing Jonesy's oversized, muddy shirt.

"Don't!" She stopped Joss, his mouth already open to make some smart-arse comment. "Not a word from any of you." She stomped over to her desk, dumping her gunbelt down.

"What the hell happened to you two?" asked the Sarge in astonishment.

"I got shat on by a bloody goat." Susie fumed as she headed for the locker room. Jonesy coughed, then followed her, smiling sweetly to the others in the room. Joss stopped him as he passed.

"A goat, eh?" He raised an eyebrow sarcastically. "Is that what they call it nowadays?" He winked, and was promptly answered by a slap across the back of the head. Jonesy shook his head as he walked off, pushing the locker room door open.

Susie stood at her locker, rummaging through her bag for a clean shirt. Her anger was clearly evident on her face. Jonesy leant against his own locker, sniggering to himself. Susie shot him a look.

"Oh, come on Suse, lighten up. You have to see the humour in this." She ignored him, going back to her rummaging. Jonesy continued, "I mean, look at yourself." Susie stopped, and looked straight ahead, jaw clenched. A splutter burst from his mouth, shortly joined by one from Susie. She banged her head against the locker door, covering her face. She resigned; laughing, at last, at her own misfortune. She turned to Jonesy.

"That's a good look for you, you know." She nodded at him, looking him up and down. He puffed out his chest and planted his hands on his hips in a superhero pose. "Ooh, very sexy" she mused. He chuckled, dropping his stance.

"I could say the same to you. That shirt does good things for you." She rolled her eyes. Jonesy smirked. "Speaking of my shirt, I'll have it back now, thanks" He held out his hand for the shirt jokingly. She scoffed at his implied suggestion and crossed her arms over her chest defensively. He retracted his hand. "Or do you like wearing men's shirts?" He offered sarcastically.

"Not just any man's shirt."

"A man in uniform?"

"Or half a uniform." He paused, taken aback by her loaded response. He looked down at himself, as if he hadn't realised what she was saying. He pointed to himself. 'Me?' he mouthed. Susie shrugged, feigning indifference and turning back to her bag.

"If you want your shirt so badly, just come and get it." She stepped back, trying to initiate a chase jokingly. Jonesy peered at her fake-menacingly, taking a slow step towards her.

"What are you suggesting?" He took another step towards her. She took another back, and shrugged again. He shook his head disapprovingly. "Don't tempt me, woman." She flashed him a mischievous smile.

"Why not?" She finally stopped her retreat, back against the wall. Jonesy followed her, a glint in his eye. He looked down into her face and reached for a button on his/her shirt. He undid it, but painfully slowly, letting his fingers graze against her skin underneath. He reached for the next button and slipped it open in the same manner. As he went for the third, Susie grabbed his arm, stopping him. He pulled back; worried that she'd had a change of heart.

"You're tickling me." She leant in and whispered in his ear "Do it faster." Jonesy laughed, but complied, removing the next button sharply. He felt her hands creeping their way up his back, and couldn't prevent the twitch that forced its way down his spine.

He dealt with the rest if the buttons quickly, but slacked his pace once they were all undone. Slowly, he softly ran his hands up the bare skin of her sides to her shoulders. He leant in towards her face, teasing her before pulling back, and sliding his hands up onto her shoulders. He slipped the shirt off her back, letting it fall onto the floor at their feet.

One of Susie's hands was now snaking over Jonesy's stomach. She dragged the pads of her fingers over the firm skin as she made her way over his chest and around the back of his neck. There it rested. She had just started to pull down on his neck, directing him towards herself, when they heard someone just outside the door. Both froze, wide-eyed like an animal caught in a spotlight.

They jumped as the door clicked open, pushing away from each other and turning towards the intrusion. Kelly was standing in the doorway, leaning on the handle. Thankfully for the pair already in the room, she was facing towards the hallway, talking to the Sarge. She turned around as they breathed a sigh of relief. Susie grabbed the fresh shirt from her bag and hurriedly threw it on. Kelly turned to face them.

"Oh, sorry, Suse." She raised her hand in apology, thinking she had interrupted her getting changed. Jonesy corrected himself, turning away from Susie, as though to give her privacy whilst changing. Kelly continued, unfazed and unaware of what had been going on. "Um, Jonesy, the Boss wants to see you, " she adopted a sardonic look and made air quotes " 'quick smart' " She rolled her eyes and left the room, without a clue to what she had almost walked in on.

Both Susie and Jonesy let out a quiet sigh of relief, and a small laugh at Kelly's lack of realisation. Jonesy plucked a clean shirt from his locker and slipped his arms through the sleeves, buttoning it up as he went to meet with the boss.

He finished tucking in his shirt as he knocked on his office door. He swung it open and stepped inside, confident that he had all the answers for the questions he knew he was about to be asked.

"You wanted to see me, Boss?" He strode over to his desk, hands behind his back.

"Would you kindly tell me what all that fuss was about when you and Raynor came in?" The Boss looked down his nose at the man standing before him, waiting for a response. Jonesy nodded.

"Gladly" he replied, a smile slowly spreading across his face as he recounted the story to the Boss.

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	4. Chapter 4

----- Part Four -----

Alex and Amy traipsed into the station, looking weary. The Sarge nodded to them as they entered.

"So, how did things go out there?" he asked, seemingly disinterested. He turned back to his paperwork. "You two manage to get along?" The two exchanged a quick glance. Alex headed over to his desk, Amy to her office. He shrugged.

"Yeah, most of the time." He plonked himself down on his chair, letting out a long, tired breath. Amy dumped her folder on her desk, returning to the room to report to the Sergeant. She stopped.

"Um, Alex?" He looked up from his page.

"Hmm?" She paused, unsure of what to say.

"You might want to change your shirt, you've get some, ah…" she pointed to the back of her collar, indicating for him to check his own. He pulled his collar around, finding a few drops of blood on the back. He looked up to the sky again, muttering something inaudible before leaving for the locker room. Jonesy looked up, spotting the blood and the bandage.

"Woah, what happened mate, you OK?" Alex stopped, his hand on the locker room door. He pointed to Amy, slightly annoyed, but smiling.

"Ask her." Jonesy swivelled in his chair, peering at Amy through squinted eyes. She looked up, blushing.

"Yeah… I smashed the car door into his head." She turned on her heel and went back into her office while Jonesy burst out laughing.

"I can hear you!" Alex's voice floated in from the next room. Amy poked her head out from her office.

"Where's Alex?" She looked around. Kelly answered.

"Changing." Amy started off towards the locker room to get him, when her phone rang. She turned back.

"Could someone go and grab him for me, I've got something for him to sign." She grabbed the ringing phone.

"Kelly", "Kelly", "Yours, Kel" came the chorus from the others in the room. The grunted in protest, but left the room to fetch her colleague.

She pushed open the door, finding Alex with his shirt off, reaching for a clean one. He spun around. Kelly sighed, exasperated.

"What's with the guys around here taking their shirts off all the time?" Alex furrowed his brow.

"What?" He was confused. She flapped her arms in frustration and turned to leave the room.

"Amy needs you to sign something." She called over her shoulder, leaving Alex puzzled. He shrugged, and left the room, pulling on the shirt.

He walked through the office, his shirt still unbuttoned. Jonesy made a low wolf-whistle as he passed his desk. He was quickly thanked with a punch on the arm.

"Ow, you gave me a dead-arm, you bastard." He rubbed the sore spot on his upper arm, the rest of it hanging limp by his side. Joss scoffed. "Hey, you laugh now. He's stronger than he looks, you know." Jonesy warned. Joss shrugged.

"I'll just take your word for it." He went back to writing. Alex emerged from Amy's office, still tucking in his shirt. Joss nodded up at him. "So did she enjoy the show?"

It was Joss' turn to feel pain. He turned to Jonesy, holding his arm. He was smiling knowingly, satisfied.

"See?" Joss nodded. He gingerly lifted his arm to continue writing. Alex sat back down in his chair.

"That was some heavy shit out there today." He sighed, drained by the drama of the afternoon. Jonesy put down his pen.

"What went down?" Alex glanced at his watch and jumped up.

"Knock off time!" he pointed to the clock, quickly joined by Joss and Kelly. "Fill you in tomorrow, mate." He patted Jonesy on the back, and motioned to Susie. "Happy graveyard shift." He flashed them a toothy grin.

"Get out of here." Susie shooed him out, rolling her eyes. Kelly and Joss said their goodnights and trailed out the door, pleased to be free at last.

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Half and hour later, the Boss emerged from his office. He wished them goodnight before going home. The Sarge followed suit.

"Okay. You two are on until 12:30. It's my day off tomorrow; you are rostered on to start at 1:30. Have a good shift." He grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

"Night, Sarge" "Goodnight." Came the replies.

They heard the clang of the phone being hung up from Amy's office. Susie grimaced in anticipation of her mood.

"What's been keeping you?" called out Jonesy. Amy sighed.

"That was the hospital. I just spent six bloody hours listening to some bloody doctor talk about why a crazy woman went crazy." She shuffled around some papers on her desk, trying to create some sort of order for her to face it again tomorrow. "Everyone else gone home?"

"Yep. A while ago." Came the reply.

A slip of paper fell from her desk into her lap. She picked it up, unfolding it. It read:

_Foxy, call me. –A_

She smiled, slipping the note into her pocket. She cleared her throat, walking out past the two remaining Heelers and out the door, calling her goodbyes over her shoulder. Susie slapped her hands on her knees, looking at Jonesy.

"Well…" she started. He replied, mimicking her.

"Well…"

"This should be fun, then, ey?" She smiled, before standing and walking out of the room. "Coffee?" she called. Jonesy paused, thinking. He leant back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. He nodded to himself.

"Yeah…" he answered to both questions, unsure whether she was being sarcastic or not.

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	5. Chapter 5

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----- Part Five -----

-

The first hour or so of the shift were fairly uneventful. The pair chatted idly about nothing in particular, eventually settling into doing their paperwork in silence. Occasionally, they snuck a look at one another when they thought the other wouldn't notice. Unfortunately for Susie, on one of these occasions, Jonesy felt her eyes on him.

His pen stopped writing. Susie tried to look away, but she was too late. He looked up, and caught her staring at him, smiling.

"What?" he was slightly uneasy, unsure why she was looking at him.

"What? I'm not allowed to look at you?" a coy smile escaped her mouth. He squinted back.

"Depends."

"On what?" He dropped his pen, crossing his arms.

"On why you're looking." Susie tilted her head, confused. "So…?" he motioned with his hand for her to explain. She shook her head to communicate that she had no idea what he was talking about. Jonesy spoke slowly, his words spaced out to patronise her. "Just now. Why were you looking at me?" The phone rang. Susie snatched it up. Jonesy sneered at her.

"Saved by the bell." He whispered. She ignored him.

"Mt Thomas Police, Senior Constable Raynor speaking… " Jonesy grumbled jokingly, standing up. He leaned across her desk slowly, grabbing her mug and taking it away to the mess room. When he returned, Susie was scribbling something down, and standing up.

"Okay, thanks Mrs Johnson. We'll be right round." She hung up. "We've got a bunch of drunken 'louts' " She made air quotes, mimicking the elderly woman's language, "breaking into a car on the street, laughing and talking loudly." She headed for the door, Jonesy hot on her tail. She paused in the doorway, her hand on the car keys. She turned, looking cheekily at Jonesy. "You look cute when you're concentrating." With that she slipped the keys off the hook and whisked out the door, leaving Jonesy at a complete loss.

Realising what she meant, he followed her, smiling slyly to himself.

-

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The callout was nothing like they expected. They arrived to find three guys sitting in the gutter, drinking beer. In front of them on the nature strip sat a huge plasma-screen TV, a football match in progress on the screen.

"Phwoar, look at the size of that telly." Jonesy exclaimed as they pulled up in front of the house. They exited the car as the three guys let out a cheer, raising their beers to the screen and high-fiving each other. Jonesy strolled over to the football-watching trio, thumbs in his belt.

"What's going on here, boys?" They started, not noticing his approach. None of them seemed worried, they all greeted him. One even saluted.

"G'day, mate. What are you doin' here?" The other two returned their attention to the footy. Jonesy snuck a look at the footy scores, before continuing.

"Someone reported a car being broken into. You blokes know anything about that?" One of the men raised his hand.

"Yeah, that was me. Locked me bloody keys in the car." Jonesy frowned, confused.

"So you just smashed the window?" The guy stared at him like he was an idiot.

"Well, yeah. We were locked out of the house and the footy was about to start." Susie butted in.

"About that… this is your TV?" she pointed to the plasma.

"Yep. 110cm." He stated proudly. Jonesy exhaled approvingly. "Still got the receipt if you don't believe me." He started to get to his feet, but Susie waved him down.

"No, no, that's fine. It's just that… " She paused, "why do you have it out on the street?"

"Oh. Well that air con's broken, so it's bloody boiling inside. We thought it'd be nicer out here." Another bout of cheering erupted from the other two men.

"Go the mighty dogs!" one of them yelled, reaching for another beer.

"You're gonna have to keep it down a bit fellas, there was also a noise complaint made against you." Jonesy informed them with a polite smile.

"No worries." One of the men grabbed the remote, turning the volume down. Susie laughed.

"Well, as long as you keep the noise down…" Jonesy started to wrap it up, motioning with his head to indicate to Susie that their work was done. "and you realise that you're in no state to drive tonight-"

"No, sir." Chimed in one of they guys, saluting once more. Jonesy continued.

"We'll leave you guys to it." With that, they bade the men goodnight and went on their way. As soon as they had started the engine, they heard another cheer from the guys the curb. Susie rolled her eyes.

"Who cares? We'll shut 'em up if old Mrs Johnson rings again." She muttered lazily, hanging a u-ey. Jonesy scoffed.

"She was probably asleep by the time we got there."

"True."

"So what have you got lined up for your morning off?" Jonesy asked, eyeing Susie curiously.

"Hmm…" she explored the idea with a smile on her face. "A sleep-in sounds pretty good right about now." Jonesy nodded in agreement, stretching out in his seat.

"A sleep-in sounds really good." He too looked forward to it with a smile. The rest of the trip back to the station was silent, both of them exercising their own fantasies about their morning off.

-

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	6. Chapter 6

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------- Part Six --------

-

Susie and Jonesy trudged back to their desks, plonking themselves in their chairs and letting out long, tired breaths. They looked at each other. Susie raised her eyebrows, getting up from her chair.

"Another coffee?"

"I'll get it this time." Jonesy protested.

"No, no, no. I'm up, I'll get it." She reassured him, heading for the mess room.

"Come on, it's my turn." He persisted, starting to stand.

"Sit down." She replied sternly. Jonesy froze, half in, half out of his chair, making up his mind. He came to a decision, following Susie from the room.

She glanced over her shoulder as she heard him walk into the room. She smiled.

"Miss me already?" she joked, spooning the coffee into two mugs.

"Something like that." He sidled up behind her, resting his hands on her hips. She jumped slightly at first, but relaxed into his touch, leaning back against him.

"Sugar?" His hands slid around to her stomach, pulling her closer.

"Please." He leant down, placing a soft kiss in the crook of her neck. She giggled, both ticklish and pleased. He kissed her again, this time moving up to the side of her jaw. She grasped his hands, holding him close and resting her head back into his chest.

Jonesy gave a deep, contented laugh. Susie smiled as she felt it rumble against her back. She turned, so they were face to face. She leant on the bench, all thoughts of coffee forgotten. She looped her arms around his neck, pulling him down towards her.

-

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The Sarge wandered into the office drowsily. He rummaged through the clutter on his desk, not worried by the lack of other people in the room.

"Ah!" he held up his wallet triumphantly, slipping it into his back pocket. He turned to leave, but hesitated, before deciding to check the rest of the station for his colleagues. He checked the locker room, but found no one. He moved on to the mess room, stopping in his tracks as he spotted Susie and Jonesy in each other's arms.

"Constables!" he blurted, not sure whether to laugh or yell at them. The couple split apart immediately, leaping a foot into the air from shock. Jonesy sprang back, his leg smashing into the corner of the table, almost sending a chair flying. He grappled with the chair and his own feet, eventually managing to get the chair onto all four legs, and himself onto his own two. He straightened up, facing in the Sarge's direction, his features distorted in a mix of pain, embarrassment and guilt. Susie remained over by the bench, sporting a sheepish grin.

Mark stared blankly at both of them in turn. Slowly, he started to chortle in delay at Jonesy's performance and the expressions on his and Susie's faces. Jonesy rubbed at his leg, desperately searching for an explanation.

"Ahhh…" he failed miserably. Susie jumped in.

"We were just, ah…" The Sarge waved his hand, putting and end to her ramblings. He gave one last chuckle.

"I don't even want to know." He turned on his heel, dismissing the situation with another wave of his hand and walking out the door. "Enjoy the rest of your shift." He mused.

Jonesy stared after him, open-mouthed and blank-faced. He whipped around, expecting Susie's attitude to reflect his. To his surprise, she was laughing. He was shocked.

"It's your turn to make the coffee." She quipped matter-of-factly, slapping him on the back as she left the room. He watched her walk away, smirking as the humour of the situation dawned on him.

Jonesy sauntered over to Susie's desk, placing the steaming mug in front of her. She snatched it up eagerly, taking a long, slow mouthful. He did the same, sitting down on the edge of the desk. He glanced at his watch.

"So. Twenty minutes to go. Think we'll get another call?" He asked.

"Nah, I reckon we're in the clear." Susie replied. Her answer was half reasoning, half wishful thinking.

"Ooh, I don't know…" He stressed his point sarcastically. Susie acted insulted.

"Are you doubting my intuition?"

"Yes I am." Jonesy nodded defiantly.

"Pessimist." She retorted light-heartedly, riling him up.

"Alright, you're on. Twenty bucks says we get one last call." He challenged.

"Game on."

Jonesy downed the last of his coffee. He walked over to his own desk, smiling over his shoulder at Susie. He sat down, shuffling around a stack of papers.

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Susie looked up at the clock.

"Hey Jonesy." He looked up. She pointed to the clock gleefully. "Twelve-thirty, time to go." He gave a huge sigh of relief, pushing his chair away from his desk and springing from his chair. He clapped his hands.

"Finally. Let's get out of here." He made for the door.

"Not so fast." She stopped him. "Aren't you forgetting something?" she held out her hand, palm flat. He looked at it, then back up at her. She was smiling sweetly.

"I'll tell you what. I'll make you dinner instead. Hungry?" He smiled charmingly, trying to get out of paying her her winnings.

"Smooth."

"Why, thankyou."

"Your place?" He paused, holding up a finger.

"Hang on a tick." He grabbed his phone from his pocket, pressing speed dial. He frowned. "No answer. I'll try Alex's mobile." He dialled again.

"_Hello?"_

"Alex, it's Jonesy."

"_Oh, you off already mate?"_

"Yeah."

"_I'm out for the night."_

"You are?" Jonesy's voice perked up.

"_Yeah. Don't wait up for me, though."_

"I won't. Who's the lucky lady?"

"_I gotta go. Talk to ya tomorrow."_

"Okay, see you later."

"_Bye." _The line went dead. Jonesy turned to Susie.

"Looks like we've got the place to ourselves." They headed for the door, turning off all the lights and locking the door. Susie looked impressed.

"Very nice. No interruptions." She winked, getting into her car. "Meet you there in 10." Jonesy laughed, getting into his own car as she drove off, tooting the horn.

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	7. Chapter 7

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-------- Part Seven --------

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Jonesy strolled into the lounge room, dropping his wallet and keys onto the coffee table. He continued through to his room, unbuttoning his shirt and shrugging it off onto the bed. He did the same with his pants and headed for the bathroom. On second thought, he scooped them up and threw them onto the floor of the wardrobe, slamming the doors shut.

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Susie glanced at the mirror, and then at her watch. _Oh well. _She thought. _This'll have to do for now, wouldn't want to keep Jonesy waiting now, would we?_ She snatched a bottle of red off the bench and practically skipped out the door. She hummed to the radio in the car the whole way.

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Jonesy was stepping into a pair of comfy jeans when he heard a knock at the door. _Shit._ He thought. He zipped up his jeans, grabbing a t-shirt and pulling it on as he trotted to get the door. He swung it open, revealing a beaming Susie standing on the porch. They shared a one-armed hug hello; Susie's kiss lingering for a second too long against his cheek. He stood back, showing her in with his arm and welcoming her with a warm smile. She stepped past him, partially aware of his eyes following her across the room.

"I brought this." She held out the wine.

"Oh great, thanks. I'll just go and open this." He took the bottle from her, ensuring that their hands touched and headed into the kitchen. "Make yourself at home." Susie sat down on the couch. She watched him walking away and smiled to herself.

"So, what's for dinner?" she called into the kitchen.

"Ahh… dinner." That particular detail had slipped his mind. He pulled the cork out of the bottle with a loud pop and carried it, along with two glasses, into the lounge room. He placed them on the coffee table in front of Susie and returned to the kitchen. She smiled, filling both glasses generously and picking one up, reclining back into the cushions.

"Don't you have anything for me?" she teased. He waved the suggestion away with his hand.

"I'll scrape something up, never you mind." He gave her a devilish grin and opened the fridge. His face fell. _Oh, my God. How long has it been since we bought food?_ He thought, starting to get worried. He scanned the bare shelves for anything edible among the many ancient containers of leftover take-away and the odd stubby. He frowned. Susie spotted the look on his face and sniggered as he moved on to the freezer.

"We're scraping the bottom of the barrel here, I'm afraid." Jonesy admitted. He wiped some ice off a box, searching for a label. "Ooh, this looks like it might be edible." He tugged on the box, but it didn't budge. He braced his knee against the fridge door, pulling harder. Still the box stayed put. He put his back into it; a small grunt escaping as the box came free, sending shards of ice flying. Susie laughed.

"Looks like you might need to defrost your freezer, there." She was replied with a confused look.

"Why would I defrost it? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of it being a freezer?" He shook his head, holding up the box, which contained a frozen pizza. Susie nodded.

"Sounds good." Jonesy obliged, lighting the oven and throwing the pizza inside. He joined Susie on the couch, taking up his glass and offering her a toast.

"To… tonight." She chuckled, raising her glass.

"Tonight."

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	8. Chapter 8

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--------- Part Eight ---------

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They talked and drank as they waited for their dinner to cook. The conversation flowed as freely as the wine, as they talked louder, laughed louder and lost track of the time. Susie doubled over and clutched at Jonesy's leg as he delivered the punchline of a story. He joined her, throwing back his head and giving a deep laugh. He reached over to top up his glass, frowning as only a trickle came from the bottle.

"I'll just go and grab another bottle." He stood up, pointing at her. "Don't you move." He ducked into the kitchen, grabbing another bottle of wine from a cabinet. He smiled as he walked towards her on the couch.

"What?"

"Nothin." He sat down on the couch, this time closer to her side. He started on removing the cork, his gaze fixed on the bottle. "You just look particularly stunning tonight," He stated offhandedly. "That's all." He eyed her curiously to gauge her reaction. Much to his relief, she was smiling.

"You don't look too bad yourself." He flashed her a quick grin.

They both laughed as Jonesy filled their glasses from the new bottle. Jonesy, despite the fact that he was scared that she didn't think he was serious. Susie, to hide how much the simple comment touched her.

"Your, um…" he reached out, tucking his finger under the strap of her top and sliding it back to where it had fallen from her shoulder. He let go of the strap, but left his hand on her shoulder, stroking the smooth skin with his thumb. She reached up and grasped his thumb, shifting down the couch so she was against him, her knee bent and across his leg. She draped her arm over his shoulder, looking up into his eyes.

He smiled, apprehensively, hesitantly. She felt him slightly holding his breath. Susie dropped her arm, sliding her hand over to the front of his shoulder and back in an attempt to relax him. She pulled him towards her gently by the neck of his shirt and into her kiss; soft but sure. He relaxed into it, moving his hand along her leg to her side.

They both jumped at the shrill beep of the oven, breaking apart. Susie dropped her head, helpless to their interruption. Jonesy jumped up.

"This is unbelievable!" He was a stride towards the kitchen before he was stopped by Susie's grip on his arm. He spun around, bending and planting another kiss on her. "I have to get this. That noise drives me insane." He practically bolted for the oven.

Susie found herself eyeing him yet again as he walked away. He snapped the alarm off, opening the oven. He slid the pizza onto a plate, swinging the door shut with a thud. He returned to the sofa slowly, walking seductively in jest. His eyes remained locked on hers as he approached the couch, dumping the pizza down, unwanted. He planted himself on the couch, leaning into her confidently and cupping her face. He kissed her; slowly, meaningfully, lovingly.

By the time they got to it, the pizza was barely warm.

Eventually, the exhausting nature of the day began to take its toll as their kisses became lazy, their embrace less tight and their eyelids heavy. They fell asleep in each other's arms.

Susie awoke, but left her eyes shit, letting the events of the previous night sink in. She nuzzled her head into Jonesy's chest, letting the warmth of his body sink into hers. She opened her eyes, squinting against the morning sun streaming through the window and looked up into his face. His eyes were still closed, his breathing deep and even. He had a look of peaceful contentment on his face, with a hint of a smile. He slept with one arm hanging above his head, the other around her waist, holding her close. Their legs were intertwined, 'to save space' had been his excuse. She smiled into his chest, never wanting to let go. She slipped her hand under his shirt, smoothing it across the firm ripples of his stomach. He stirred, producing a low, quiet murmur deep in his throat. His grip around her waist tightened. She grimaced, for fear of waking him but his eyes remained shut.

She closed her eyes, savouring the moment. She felt thankful, to whom, she didn't know. She was thankful for this great friend, this man she was crazy about who was by her side. Thankful for what was ahead and what had just begun.

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the end 


End file.
